Beast Within
by penname be taken
Summary: Kurt Hummel had a secret life, a new side to him only those closest and those like him knew. Kurt Hummel was a werewolf. Featuring: Puck/Kurt Friendship, Blaine/Kurt relationship.


_**Summary:**_** _Kurt Hummel had a secret life, a new side to him only those closest and those like him knew. Kurt Hummel was a werewolf. Featuring: Puck/Kurt Friendship, Blaine/Kurt relationship. Starts before "Never Been Kissed" but has spoilers with added/changed happenings of first and second season. _**

_**-Chapter One-**_

Kurt Elizabeth Hummel sat at his vanity mirror, fixing his hair diligently. Just moments ago, he had had it perfect. Now, it seemed, hairs were seriously out of place. He knew he was being a bit overdramatic, what with fixing his hair before bed, but he couldn't help it. His mind was fogged with memories of his mother at the moment and he was desperate for any distraction. He shook his head again, trying to rid himself of the memories physically, only to hate himself immediately afterward as more hairs left their original place. He wished he could bring himself to use hairspray, but it would only do more damage when he slept, leaving him with a nightmare of a hairstyle come morning.

He moved his bangs, pushing them to one side, remembering the way his mother's hand would card through his hair. He could still feel her gentle touch now, thinking of her soft hands. Hands softer than his own. He could hear her soft voice singing him a lullaby goodnight, proud to know he inherited his own voice from her. He could see her proud smile as he finished picking out the day's matching outfit at a young age. He could see her bright eyes watching him, eyes so like his own.

-Could see her panicked eyes widen with fear-her hand struggling to keep hold of his own, her voice trembling as she pulled him away from the room, her hand slipping from his grasp, her shocked gasp-could hear it clear as day beside him now.-He saw the blood streaming from her back, pooling around her body. The gaping wound in her side, the wisps of her covering her partially-shown face. Her dead; blank eyes staring at through him, her body unmoving. -

"_MOM!" A much younger Kurt fell to the floor beside his now-deceased mother, his eyes leaking tears. "Mom…" He stayed glued to the spot beside his mother's corpse, too shocked to move, too scared to break through the shock. For a moment, the world stood still. Then-_

_A growl pierced the air, breaking the silence. Kurt's head snapped to meet fierce; amber eyes. Gulping, his eyes broke the gaze immediately, falling to the teeth of the creature-finding a red liquid dripping from the beast's teeth, making it look only more terrifying than it already was. _

_Kurt's mouth fell open, his body finally meeting his fogged mind and jolting from its spot. He ran to the stairs, desperate for escape of any kind. He pushed himself to run as fast as possible, grateful for being quick on his feet. _

_He raced faster than he ever knew himself possible. Only to fall in pain when a snarling mouth met his shoulder, sending him crashing to the ground. Its teeth sunk into him harshly, and a sickening crack echoed through the house. He didn't know whether he screamed, his mind not caught up to his body, but he was sure he did. _

_Pain filled his body, throbbing from the bite and hissed through his spine. It burned through his veins, filling his body like poison. He felt pinpricks all-over, digging into his skin, with them came sweat. It pulsed out with every raced heartbeat, just as the blood from the wound began to make its way down his fallen figure. _

_Suddenly, the teeth were removed and a shot sounded-then a loud; strangled yelp escaped from the creature above his body. He didn't know what had happened, the pain too much for his body to bare. He grew numb, shaking too hard to control. A fever broke out through his figure, only ten-folding the tremors. His eyes barely registered a gruff voice crying out for him. His vision became hazy, dark spots filling the corners of his eyes clouding his vision. "KURT!" The scream was like a whisper to his hazy mind. Then, all was dark._

Gasping, Kurt held onto the table in front of him. A cold sweat covered his body, insides hot, outsides cool. He lifted a trembling hand to his face, wiping the tears he found there. Foregoing the hair fixing, he left his room for the bathroom immediately. He raced to the toilet, unconsciously slamming the door shut behind him, and vomited.

He heard a knock on the door then, his mind coming out of it's fogged state. "Kurt?" he heard his father, Burt, ask softly from the other side. "You okay in there, buddy?" Kurt took a deep breath. "Kurt? Do you want me to come inside?" He knocked again.

"I-I'm fine, dad…" he heard himself say. A pounding filled his head. "Just a l-little sick."

Burt opened the door, eyeing his son's disheveled appearance. With a murmur Kurt couldn't hear, the man knelt down next to his son. He hesitated slightly before rubbing gentle circles on Kurt's back. "You're not okay." he stated, his tone telling Kurt his objection to his son's blatant lie.

"I said I was sick, and I am," Kurt replied, his tone much more confident now that the worse of the flashbacks was gone. "I must've ate something bad today or something..." he sighed out.

Burt made a sound of discontent with his answer before pulling out a towel and helping Kurt off the floor. "Come on, let's get you cleaned up," he said.

-0-

Waking up the next morning, Kurt felt slightly better than the night before. He made sure to do an extra-long shower and moisturizing routine before he made breakfast. His dad came into the room soon after, his eyebrows raised in curiosity of his son's state of dress and current task of cooking.

"Kurt," he reprimanded. His tone revealed he was apprehensive, "What're you doing in here?"

"Making breakfast, what does it look like, dad?" Kurt countered, taking two plates from the cabinet and placing the meal into them. "Have to leave a bit earlier than usual though, I'm a little behind schedule."

Kurt placed the dishes on the table before grabbing a cup and pouring fresh orange juice into it. His dad stared all the while. "Kurt-"

Burt stopped short as his son raised a hand to him. "Listen." Kurt began, lowering his hand when his dad gave him a look, "I'm feeling much better today and I want to go to school and relish in my re-founded health, okay?"

His father grunted, "You don't have to go to school today, you know. I'm fine with you staying home every once in awhile. God knows how much you do around here, you deserve a break."

Kurt shook his head, taking his father's hand and leading him to a chair in front of the table, "Just sit and eat, dad, I promise I'll be back home in no time."

"No, Kurt," Burt stated. He pushed himself up from the table, a hand leaning on the wood. He grabbed his son's shoulders and steered him to the table, pushing him down in the seat. "You're going to stay home and you're going to like it. Now eat."

"But-"

"Who's the parent here?" Burt questioned with a sigh. "If I hear of you going to school today you're not getting your monthly clothing budget, okay?"

Kurt paled at the thought and found himself nodding slowly, "Okay…" he gave in, "But this is your meal-"

"You made it, it's yours, now eat." Burt said, "I'm heading down to the shop anyway, gotta few orders comin' in today." He walked toward the doorway between the living room and kitchen as his son spoke his objection .

"But what about your health? If you don't eat-"

"I'll grab an apple or something, that okay?" Burt asked. Slowly, Kurt nodded in response. "Now, I'm gonna head down to the shop, but only if you promise me you're okay alone. If not, I'll stay here and we can watch something on television. Like that show you like with the screaming girls and, what's-her-name, Tina?"

"Tyra, dad," Kurt corrected. "And it's America's Next Top Model. But, you don't have to, I'll be okay alone." he said, shooing his dad from the room. He ran back and grabbed an apple and a grapefruit slice from the table and placed them in a bag as his father put on his coat next to the front door.

"You sure you'll be alright?" Burt asked once more, worry lacing his words.

Kurt nodded, handing his dad the bag, "Yes, dad, I'm seventeen, and more than ready for the responsibilities of staying home alone." he replied with a roll of his eyes. "Just go already, don't want to be late, right?" Then, as an afterthought, "I'll bring you your lunch freshly-made, okay?"

Burt nodded, smiling as his son practically pushed him from the house, "I'm going, I'm going," he said, raising his arms in surrender. "Now, call me if you need anything, and I mean anything." he informed. "I worry about you, Kurt." he admitted.

Kurt's stance relaxed, "It's okay dad, I promise to call you if I need you. I'm sure this day is just what I needed to relax. There's no reason to worry, I'm sure that by this time tomorrow I'll be as good as new." he sighed, shooing his dad once more. "Now, go before I make you."

"You aren't already?" Burt asked with a surprised look.

Kurt smiled softly, "Go, dad, I'll see you at 11:30, okay?"

Burt returned the smile, "See ya then, kiddo," he said, already making his way to his car.

Kurt watched his father leave before turning back into his home and plopping down ungracefully into the kitchen chair. He stared at the food, stomach growling in his own hunger. He gave in and began to eat his meal, slowly taking in every bite. Inside, he admitted he did actually need this day. And he was sincerely grateful for the opportunity to stay away from the hell-hole he called "school." But that didn't make him exactly ecstatic for staying. He hated the jocks thinking they won because he didn't show up for school. Even if it wasn't the case, they would taunt him for it worse tomorrow.

Staying home might help him greatly, but it also didn't change his worry. His dad was all he had, and after almost-dying in the hospital for a heart attack, Kurt was more protective of him than ever before. If it wasn't for his "furry little problem" since the night of his mother's death, he was sure Carol, his dad's girlfriend, and her son, Finn, would be staying with them. Carol would make sure Burt was okay, he was sure of it, and that in itself would take a huge weight off his shoulders. Knowing his father was safe in the hands of someone who knew exactly what she was doing…

Kurt took his now-empty plates to the sink and began the daunting task of cleaning them, still lost in thought. Carol had made it abundantly clear that she wanted to move-in with the Hummels with her son, but Burt always dropped the subject as soon as it was mentioned. Kurt wished she could stay, but was sure Finn would hate it. When he had set-up his father with Finn's mother, he had only done so for selfish reasons. The highest of all reasons, Finn. He desperately wanted to get to get closer to the boy. Only to fail with a flourish not even _Victor/Victoria's _Norma could even try to achieve.

Drying the dishes, he made his way to his room in the basement, content to put his tub to use with a long bath. He found himself singing softly as he gathered the proper toiletries together for his bath. He grabbed his phone, iPod, and iPod dock as an afterthought.

Finn had made his hatred of Kurt's obvious advances abundantly clear. The words still rung through his head, _"Why do you have to be such a-such a _fag, _I mean, God, Kurt, I don't like you. I never will. I'm straight. And nothing is going to change that. Not you, not our parents, and definitely not any other faggy ideas you have to put us together." _He had said them after Kurt's redemption of "A House is Not a Home." How was Kurt to know he'd hate the song so much? He himself thought it rang perfectly true to the situation, what with Carol replacing the old furniture in their home and Finn hating it. Though, he would admit to himself that maybe he had gone a bit far in his not-so-subtle flirting… But could anyone blame him? He was the only out-gay kid in Lima, Ohio, and Finn was the only guy who had been nice to him.

Sighing, Kurt placed his gathered items in their places before turning his iPod on his relaxation play list and pressing play. Adjusting the volume, he started getting the tub ready. He felt like he was in a rut. Bad memories and thoughts wouldn't stop pounding in his head…

His phone dinged with a new message. He picked up the object, seeing a text from his best friend, Mercedes:

_hey, boo, where are you? you alright? need me to go over there? cause i will and yes thats a threat -miss you already_

Kurt smiled at the message, feeling better knowing his friend still cared about him. It lightened his heart. He pressed on the message to reply:

_I'm fine, Cedes, just a little sick today is all. You don't have to come over, but let's have a mall day this afternoon, 'kay?_

He pressed 'send' and set his phone to the side to get ready for his relaxation.

-0-

"_I'm afraid I have some bad news," the doctor said, her wide doe-like eyes scanning the report on her clipboard as if the news would change. "You might want to sit down for this." she stalled. _

_Kurt sat up on his bed, his hospital gown not helping in the least with his current level of discomfort. Beside him, his father sat in a chair, his hand taking his son's. With a gentle squeeze, he had assured Kurt he would be there no matter the news. His face told a different story, however. Kurt had only seen that face twice in his life thus far, both revolving on the attack. Once was when he had just woken and the police officers had asked for a recount of his and his father's stories of the attack. The other when he saw Kurt crying after hearing of his mother's passing. He felt like they were happening because of him. Because of the attack that he had caused. _

_It was a stony face, a mask in other words. It didn't show what his father really thought of the situation to outsiders he hadn't met before. But Kurt knew his father. And from the first time he saw that face, he had known what lay behind it. Sadness and anger mixed, but the main emotion that scared Kurt? Fear. His dad was scared of what happened, of what could happen, of what was happening. And it terrified Kurt. Even more than the wolf. It scared him because his father, the man who he leaned on, the one he thought of as his safety net, was just as fearful inside as he was. He just hid it better. _

"_Well?" his dad asked, voice cold. _

_The doctor bit her lip. "I'm sorry but, it appears your son was infected from the wol-"_

"_Infected? Like…" _

_The nurse looked startled by his interruption. "Lycanthropy." she supplied. Her eyes reached an all-time wide range as Burt ran a hand through his hair, his mask dropping completely to show more anger than there was before._

"_Son of a bi-" he cut himself off before he could finish the curse, squeezing the now-trembling hand in his own as a comfort to his son. With a soft growl, he leaned forward on his chair. "So, you're saying my son is now…"_

"_A lycanthrope, otherwise known as a, well, a werewolf." she breathed out in a reply. _

_A long silence followed. Kurt found himself shocked in his bed, "W-what?" he asked, eyes darting to his dad then to the doctor and back again. "Is this some kind of-some kind of joke?" he questioned, voice quivering. "Stop. I-it's not funny…"_

_Burt shook his head and stood from his chair to hold his tearful son. "It's true, Kurt." he said shortly. _

_The doctor watched the scene, suddenly feeling as if she was intruding on a personal moment. "Um…"_

"_You can leave, I'll handle it from here." Burt stated._

_She nodded and left the two alone, heart still racing from the knowledge herself. Kurt cried into his father's chest, the shirt now sporting a wet spot. "I-I don't understand…I thought-I thought they w-weren't re-real…" _

_Burt ran his hand over Kurt's back. "It's okay, Kurt, I promise. It's not as bad as it seems now, it'll get better."_

_Kurt laughed humorlessly, "That's what you say about the other kids calling me names and shoving me…This isn't some-some kid's game or something dad-"_

"_Kurt," Burt demanded, "look at me." _

_Kurt did so, finding himself staring into his dad's amber-tinted eyes. "I know it'll get better because, well, I am one myself."_

Kurt woke with a jolt, his mind scrambling to find out where he was and how he got there. He opened his eyes, finding himself staring at his bathroom. "Shit!" he cursed, glancing at the water in which he was immersed. He mumbled to himself about how his body would pay for his stupidity and prune from staying in the water for so long. He glanced at the clock, only to curse once more. It read: 10:59

He had to be at the garage by 11:30 ready and with food or his dad would worry. Groaning, he stood on wobbly legs and shook himself dry by instinct rather than habit, grabbing his towel along the way to his room.

He quickly dried off from the bath and rubbed his body with globs of lotion, praying his skin would survive his carelessness. He wobbled still, the feeling of weightlessness the water had offered making his muscles feel weird with gravity acting on them once more.

Once dressed, he stumbled down the stairs and made his dad his lunch. He shoved the contents in the bag once they finished cooking, pausing whilst thinking of his dream, his memory. He made the decision, and ran to his room ungracefully and grabbed two cookies from his hiding place.

Shoving the treats into his dad's lunch bag, he ran back downstairs, cursing his still-wet hair and looking at the clock. 11:26, it read. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath and left the house, he could wash it later and re-dry it.

Once at the workshop, he exited his vehicle in a rush. The door was open so he walked inside immediately. Looking around, he saw a few men he recognized when he helped his father in the shop. Seeing one he knew since he was a kid, he smiled and began to walk toward him.

"Hi, Tony," he said.

Tony banged his head on the hood of the car, "Crap…" he said.

"Scare you?" Kurt asked, face still grinning.

"A little…" the other admitted quietly. He held a hand to the top of his head as if it would stop the pain. "Ugh…" he said. "So, whatcha here for, kid?"

Ignoring the 'kid' remark, Kurt replied, "Giving dad lunch."

"Why're you here for that though? Shouldn't ya be in school or something?" Tony asked, rubbing his head and wincing every so often.

Kurt shrugged, "I got sick last night and dad wanted me to stay home today because of it."

"Ah, he's the one in the right then," Tony commented, placing his tools to the side.

Kurt quirked an eyebrow, "What do you mean?" he asked.

"You know what I mean, you're a bit of a liar when it comes to your health. It's weird, since my own kid would love to miss school and lies all the time tryin' to do it. Yet, you want to go no matter what happens. You'll wear yourself thin that way, ya will." He gulped down some water.

Deciding against arguing with Tony, he settled for a soft glare at the man. "So, where is he?"

"Who?" Tony asked.

"You might want to check for a concussion…" Kurt suggested, then answered, "Dad."

"Ah, yeah, he's back in the office, and I'll be fine." he said, "Good luck."

Kurt went to the office after waving Tony off, and knocked on the door loudly. "Dad, I'm here," he announced, going inside.

Burt looked up from his paperwork. "'Bout time!" he grumbled, "I'm starvin' here!"

Kurt smiled, "Then you won't mind your daily health-loving meal!" he said happily.

Burt groaned again, "Whatcha got for me?"

Kurt handed him the bag and he shuffled through the contents, his usual dislike for the food evident on his face. That is, until he saw the cookies, "What-"

"They're a treat," Kurt began, "for you. I mean, since you've been so great about everything…" he stopped rambling when he saw his dad immediately take out a cookie as if he was about to bite, "No, dad, real food first, then bad food! It hasn't been _that _long since you've had dessert, surely!"

Burt sighed and placed his dessert on his desk before taking out his sandwich and munching on it. "There. Happy?"

"Ecstatically so," Kurt replied. He eyed the papers on the desk, "What're you working on?"

"Just the usual work stuff, you know, car contracts and all that."

Kurt gave him a look and he began munching once more on his meal. "You sure about that? Because this one here," he motioned to the first paper on the stack, "looks more like something that shouldn't be seen by almost forty percent of the workers here. Or do you want the government angry?"

Burt rolled his eyes, a gesture Kurt knew he was mocking from himself, "Hey, I'm only doing what I'm supposed to do to help my family. So, sue me."

"Don't tell the government that if a worker sees and reports you as insane, they'll follow through." he responded offhandedly. "Anyway, I'm sure Tony knows about this?"

Burt nodded slowly, "It was kinda his idea."

Kurt openly gaped at him, "Are you serious? It was his idea to get papers on, what was it…" he mumbled the last part, scanning the top of the document. "Ah, yes, 'Werewolf Lifestyle,' not that it'll help much if at all. It's been years dad, and we've been getting along just fine."

Burt stiffened, "Well…you're partly right. Me and the guys have been fine but…Well, son, you're different than us. While we all have the added strength, you don't. Not to mention how you look human, nothing wolfish like us. Then there's the fact that while we like women, you don't, and we're not quite sure what it means to wolves. They're strong differences, mind you," he added seeing the disbelieving look Kurt threw him. "And another thing," he began, "we can't sense you. It's like you're human or something, y'know? And you can sense us, yet you say there are no wolves in school when we know there has to be at least one… We're just worried that we're missing something we should know."

Kurt sighed, knowing his dad was right. He had wanted to look up information himself but would immediately begin remembering and would stop searching immediately. The others in the pack were _changed _later on in life, while Kurt was a tender age of six when it happened to him. They didn't know what to expect, especially since they didn't have a pack until Burt offered them jobs and refuge should they need it. He became the alpha, in other words, while Tony was more of a beta figure, the right-hand man of Burt. Kurt was more in the middle in status, as he was still counted as a 'pup' by the others. Their pet names for him making him want to roll his eyes each time he heard them.

"We think maybe you'll change like us when you come of age. We're not sure how it'll work to be honest, since in dog years you'd be old as dirt. I guess we're just not up to speed, y'know? So, we're doing the best we can finding any information we can so we know just in case something happens."

Kurt nodded, "Okay, dad, do what you will, but if you're going to be searching for information, do it a little more privately, okay?" Kurt said, picking up the papers, straightening them, and handing them to his father.

"Don't forget who's the parent here, kiddo, it'll be fine, I know what I'm doing." Burt said, taking the papers and shoving them into a desk drawer.

Kurt let the words alone, waving them away with his hand. "I'm going to go home then, and get started on recovery part two." Kurt left with a final goodbye to his father and a wave to Tony on his way to his car.

_**End of Chapter One.**_

_**Please review with suggestions! Thank you in advance for any help or comments in general! :D**_


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